If you can’t afford to get your hands on a Nissan GT-R Nismo but have always wanted to own one, here’s your chance. The automaker is partnering for the first time with Lego Group to debut a Lego version of the GT-R Nismo supercar, set to debut in stores globally in January.
It’s the first-ever partnership between Lego and a Japanese carmaker, and it’s one of the first offerings in the 2020 Speed Champions-themed sets, which currently feature everything from a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon to a McLaren Senna. The 2020 Speed Champion models will also grow 25% larger than previous-year versions.
Helpfully, Nissan provided some specs comparing the 2020 GT-R Nismo, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and its Lego version. Chiefly, the former took more than 10 years of development time and is assembled from more than 90,000 parts, while its plastic-block version took roughly a year to develop and comes in 298 parts. It takes a normal builder about an hour to put it together, while an expert Lego builder can have a finished supercar in about 20 minutes.
Lego said the GT-R Nismo was at the top of its wish list for racing and drift car recreations, and it spent a lot of time devising different building techniques, especially to recreate the car’s iconic taillights. It leaves us wondering which highly buzzed-about Japanese sports car might be next. Toyota Supra, mayhaps?
Nissan unveiled the 2020 version of the GT-R Nismo earlier this year at the New York Auto Show, showing a car that wears a lot of carbon fiber, new front fender vents and a 20% improvement in acceleration response, among other changes.